barryjames-mc Reviews

The Killer (2023)

A masterpiece

[10/10 · 12 November 2023]

If you want lots of killing, car chases, gore, jump-cuts, action, don't watch this, you'll whine that it's boring, and a waste of time, thats fine, it's not for you.

If you love great cinema, a brilliantly developed story, a tour de force in acting, then you will love how David Fincher tells this killer's tale.

An open mind will go a long way in appreciating this movie, it is majestic in its deliverance of this sad, human story, albeit a human who is a killer, sticking to a code to avoid empathy and life, Michael Fassbender is magnificent.

It's dark, the story unfolds slowly, but that is part of the character's isolation, it's almost light relief to hear The Smiths throughout, I'd been looking forward to this for a while. It did not disappoint.

Highly recommended.

Full Circle (2023)

Obviously misunderstood, but one character is beyond tolerable

[8/10 · 30 July 2023]

Lots of bad reviews, generally, although a complex plot, it's a good show at heart. The only thing hard to take is the Postal Inspector character, she is so irritating and annoyingly smug, she works for the postal service but acts like she is an elite agent of the CIA or FBI, why people don't just tell her to go F herself, I don't know. She ruined nearly every episode, ruins every scene she was in. The ridiculous premise of this character always being ahead of the NYPD, the FBI, without any basis for this insightful knowledge is utterly baffling, such a good director should have known better.

But, if you follow the winding plot, it's worth it, the acting is good and It would have been an amazing show without the one annoying, unbelievable character.

Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022)

One of the worst music docs I've seen in a while

[4/10 · 27 February 2023]

Quite apart from it jumping all over the place it was overall a bit of a mess. I like The Strokes, the whole spoilt rich kids being able to do whatever they like is annoying, you can always be wild and crazy when you have daddy's money to fall back on, but The Mouldy Peaches were beyond irritating, especially that vacuous 9/11 song she did, what an awful band.

There are lots of reviews wishing there was more on Karen O, I found that she was the main focus of the documentary, it was basically all about her, but she's got a great voice and deserves credit though.

Only Interpol came out of it well, they were largely humble, not spoilt rich kids who have the safety net of privilege and money to catch them if they fall.

The inclusion of Ryan Adams was disturbing, that creepy predator should not be given any publicity.

Really liked the bit on James Murphy too, it seemed a nice, albeit brief, break from Karen O and The Strokes to get some insight into him and Interpol.

Overall, a poor documentary. It seemed interminable too, felt lie 3 hours rather than an hour and 46 minutes.

Poker Face (2023– )

Downhill really fast.

[4/10 · 18 February 2023]

First episode was great, the show had a little edge to it, Natasha Lyonne is wonderful, and I had high hopes this would be good. The 2nd episode was good too but after that it went downhill fast. The Columbo style seemed ok at first until it suddenly transformed into a Murder, She Wrote shtick, watched up to and including episode 6 and that was enough, it's like it ended up as some formulaic 70s/80s daytime TV show for the over 80s, kind of thing playing in the TV room of a retirement home. Just plain awful, dire writing, terrible cliched shlock, and just the worst kind of utterly pointless TV that would make most people cringe.

Terrible.

A Quiet Place (2018)

What???

[29 January 2023]

The obvious and ridiculous start, 89 days into, whatever this is, and the kid somehow gets the batteries the right way round and turns on his toy, wouldn't he know?

The pregnancy, who would bring a child into this kind of world, only psychopaths. Babies scream, just unbelievable.

Then they say grace over dinner? Only in America would people still believe in their imaginary friend when something happens that is so obviously an indication that religion is utter BS.

Very overrated, could have been handled better, if you have a ridiculous concept at least iron out the plot holes. It's so annoying when you have to suspend your disbelief, even when it's a fantasy concept.

Kaleidoscope (2023)

It could have been so much better

[5/10 · 12 January 2023]

The gimmicky idea of "watch it in any order" is not worth it, but either way there are just too many things wrong, poor writing is just one of them. Giancarlo Esposito is excellent, he always is, but he struggles to make this work. Some of the characters aren't too bad, but........the FBI agent almost made the entire thing unwatchable, an obnoxious, smug, arrogant and vile character that has nothing to like about them. She is boring and so cliched, the flawed mother who happens to always be one step ahead, and then, in a trite, banal, vacuous piece of writing, the 'throw the files on the floor and see a picture that makes a breakthrough' urggh. So annoying. I utterly hated her character.

Then there's the Australian, no-one would include this moronic, vicious, f-up, in anything of importance, he is so exaggerated that no level of suspension of incredulity can make him believable.

It could have been better, so much better, but just too many unbelievable developments to really enjoy it. And two of the vilest, but not in an interesting way, characters I think I have ever seen in a TV show.

Kaleidoscope: Blue: 5 Days Before the Heist (2023) Season 1, Episode 4

Urggh. That FBI agent

[6/10 · 6 January 2023]

Had enjoyed this show so far, watched 4 episodes before this one (Blue) and they all had been good, apart from the Australian bloke, a ridiculous character that would never be tasked to do anything so monumental, then they introduced the FBI agent, one of the most annoying, obnoxious characters, I've seen in some time, aren't the FBI supposed to be the good guys? The awful cliches start rolling thick and fast, she's more vigilant than any other agent, makes incredible leaps of detection, out of nowhere, and the ultimate, tired, trite, cliche, the file falls on to the floor and, Boom! A breakthrough! Yawn.

Her character ruined this show, an obnoxious "hero?" That took up way too much screen time.

The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2025)

Flogging a long dead horse

[4/10 · 18 November 2022]

So, the book of this terrible dystopian nightmare is pretty much part of season one, but the show is infinitely more grim. It's up to season 5 now, we had 3 seasons of relentless misery Porn, drawn out, too many episodes and just non-stop misery. Then there's the interminable close-ups of Elizabeth Moss's face, don't get me wrong she is remarkable, an amazing actress. But it's just too much.

This show has for some time been flogging a long dead horse, it is so annoying. Maybe why it's so hard to watch is the fact there are religious extremists in the USA who would kill to have Gilead in the states. Religious fascists are real, and so it is a very disturbing show, but how much misery does one have to endure. This should have been done in 3 seasons, at most. Please, please, please , stop this increasingly unbelievable show.

Inside Man (II) (2022)

What the hell is this?

[3/10 · 28 September 2022]

What is this? This was supposed to be good. First of all Dolly Wells character is so obnoxious, so smug, supercilious, and vile, that it makes this (terrible show) almost unwatchable.

David Tennant is wasted, and his character's decisions are out of context with how any human would behave, ever. This show is based on a feeble, poorly written and utterly absurd concept.

Stanley Tucci, another great actor, fairs better but he's basically playing a "Sherlock" type of character, and the tenuous link to involve him is also absurd.

From the opening scene, a misogynist on a tube train, not necessarily an unlikely character, but the lack of reaction from the other passengers, and the strange response from the victim, strange because she is, by the story unfolding, a hardened journalist that has the financial backing to go to the USA for a questionable story, alarm bells went off that this may not be good.

Can Steven Moffat write female characters? I'm not sure after this, I expected a classic, but as soon as the vicar doesn't expose the perpetrator, like everyone on earth would, all credulity is lost.

This is after only two episodes, so if there is a story arc that blows everyone's mind, then I will apologize to the writer, but right now, it's a mess.

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)

Utter bilge

[1/10 · 8 June 2022]

The one star is for some of the original footage. The Sex Pistols were a great band, John Lydon wrote incredible lyrics (especially for how young he was at the time) and the other 3 original members were fantastic, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock, once Matlock was kicked out, it was largely over. Sid Vicious may have been one of the most talentless people in music history, and it is demonstrably obvious in this film. McLaren creates the lie that ever North American has bought into, that it was his "boy band" that he did it all as a scam, and that Sid Vicious was "punk rock'. An entire genre destroyed by lies and ego of a largely talentless man, Malcolm McLaren.

This awful movie is a messy, poorly made, rambling pile of rubbish, the revolution that the Sex Pistols started was to instigate originality, to get people to form bands and be different, to reject the boring virtuosity of the decade they were angry about. Instead of that being the legacy, the North Americans took from this film that Sid was punk, that puking up was punk, all vacuous nonsense.

It is a dire film, it looks like it had a $100 budget, it is an utter travesty.

Pistol (2022)

WAY better than the trailer would have you believe

[8/10 · 4 June 2022]

The trailer seemed to indicate this was going to be like the Great Rock n' Roll Swindle, as in McLaren's lies and BS that made most North Americans believe an utter lie about this great band, the lie that they were manufactured, that McLaren "invented" them, that Sid Vicious was a star (he was a talentless waste of space that people thought looked good) and so much more obfuscation of what actually happened but, 5 episodes in and I have realized I should have had faith in Danny Boyle.

It looks amazing, it's very well put together and brilliantly paced, there is great attention to detail and the actors do a very fine job considering this is NOT an easy thing to depict.

There are a few quibbles, Glen Matlock is poorly portrayed, Matlock deserves more respect than he is given, there is WAY too much Chrissie Hynde, she's mentioned in his book, but why is she a main character? The execrable Pretenders hardly warrant this excessive fawning over her, and there is obvious artistic license in some scenes, but beyond what you might call the inevitable for dramatic effect, this show is really well done.

It's a shame Lydon objected to it, he may have some objectionable views these days but if Lydon was not part of the Sex Pistols no-one would have ever heard of Steve Jones or Paul Cook, and definitely Sid Vicious, they would just have been a rock n' roll band, Lydon brought the voice and the lyrics. That was the core of the Sex Pistols.

The Ipcress File (2022)

Such a brilliant homage, ignore the haters.

[10/10 · 23 March 2022]

Brilliantly shot, Cole is superb as Harry, the references to the original movie, one of my favourite all time movies, are fantastic. It looks amazing, the scenery, the clothes, it's all just so beautifully done. A great take on Deighton's character, great soundtrack and a wonderful tribute to the original director. I can't understand the haters, is it political? There are shades of modern politics, particularly the far-right Christian fundamentalist American, sounds familiar right? But maybe I'm reading too much into it. Bottom line, this is definitely the best show I've seen this year. Joe Cole is just incredible. All the nonsense about wooden acting is utter rubbish. Give it a chance, it's well worth it.

Truth Be Told (2019–2023)

Awful show

[3/10 · 5 August 2021]

When the leading protagonist is a selfish, narcissistic, sociopath, who only cares about something as shallow as a "podcast", you have a shaky premise to begin with. The ridiculous access she gets to information and the potentially libelous, baseless accusations she spouts, is embarrassingly poorly written. She has a suspicion then blabs it out, regardless of evidence, accusing everyone of the crime, all down to her chronic narcissism. Awful, badly written, with albeit good actors. Ridiculous.

World on Fire (2019–2023)

Brilliantly done

[8/10 · 9 April 2021]

First of all, all the Brexiters/reviewers who object to people of colour and homosexuality, this show is about defeating the people you now sound like. It is not 'PC' to pay respect to those erased from history, people of colour and homosexuals, it is entirely respectful to do this, it is ignorant to be so dismissive.

Now, the show is really great, it looks fantastic, there's great acting throughout, characters to care for, and an unflinching portrayal of how evil the Nazis were, all the more reason to find the 'woke' and 'PC' comments utterly offensive.

I hope there is a 2nd season, it's a brilliant show.

Grace (2021– )

Hugely Average

[5/10 · 25 March 2021]

John Simm is always worth watching even in something like this, it's pretty much the ITV formulaic Cop show and I did not expect too much more from it but, it just never rises above average really. One review complained about it being PC because there are black people and women in positions of power, to that reviewer I say, grow up, and accept the wonderfully diverse world we should be embracing and promoting instead of whining and being small minded (or worse) about the fact the world isn't all about white men. Two things that brought this show down were the ludicrous need to have a "medium" involved, what rational human being would have something so clearly absurd as a part of the storyline, and the poor writing in making the cliched boss standing in the way of the 'great detective', it's such a boring, overused, and hackneyed, part of the storyline.

Behind Her Eyes (2021)

Ridiculous rubbish.

[2/10 · 19 March 2021]

It is very slow to get going and it does seem at first like it's worth sticking with it, even though the leaps of credulity make you wince quite often but, I gave it a go, I felt that maybe there would be a worthwhile conclusion to this sometimes strange sometimes interestingly dramatic story. Turns out it just uses ridiculous, nonsense like "astral traveling" to fill in its lack of decent writing. Worst of all you have to watch nearly all the series before this unscientific, impossible, risible, rubbish becomes the central plot twist. At least have the decency to promote it as fantasy, Sci-Fi, or something clearer to be able to allow rational thinkers to not have to sit through all this only to find there is no conclusion because the writer opted for the stupid and easy way out. If you're into unbelievable hokum this might be for you, otherwise do not waste your time

Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story (2017)

Mick Ronson deserved better than this

[5/10 · 13 February 2021]

Two things would have made this documentary way better, (1) Remove every comment by Angie Bowie, a talentless, bitter person, who is so irritating and annoying it makes the whole documentary almost impossible to watch, and (2) more information on Mick Ronson, the entire purpose of the documentary.

Mick Ronson was a brilliant guitarist and a very talented musician, there is no doubt about that, he should be remembered as such. The biggest problem with this documentary is the constant attacks on Bowie, from the repugnant Angie, to the utter waste of space and time that is Joe Elliott, Bowie had more artistry, genius, and sheer talent in the toenail of his little toe than Elliott could ever dream of having if he lived to be 500, he had the nerve to call The Velvet Underground s#^t, a man who was in Def Leppard calling the Velvet Underground S#*t is obviously tone deaf. This is a rewriting of history, it is in praise of Ronson at the cost of Bowie's reputation and songwriting, Bowie went on to write songs/albums that were genius, he proved himself. Ronson could not write songs, the focus therefore should have been the enormous talent Ronson had, surely that would have been enough?

It would have been entirely demonstrable to focus on the musicality of Mick Ronson, how he has been largely forgotten in the cannon of musical pioneers, how he really should be remembered as a brilliant producer, arranger, and musician, without playing into Angie Bowies obvious egregious bitterness and rancour and very obvious agenda.

I had to wait three years to rewatch this to see if I would have a different opinion on this doc, originally I had really looked forward to this, on 2nd viewing I still feel it was a wasted opportunity. It was cowardly and despicable on the part of the film makers to wait until Bowie was dead to attack him in this manner.

Fargo (2014–2024)

Fargo is a great artistic vision

[10/10 · 17 January 2021]

Season 1 and 2 were perfect TV, so well done, I thought Season 3 was a little weak following how brilliant season 2 was but, it was still good TV. I feel like I am the only person who likes season 4, there are many inarticulate rants mentioning "woke", "PC", and other Trumpian rhetoric over black people being portrayed in a manner that they obviously find offensive, some even said people didn't behave or talk like that in 1950, a comment that should really need some empirical evidence to justify.

There are a few things that need pointing out, (1) this is a TV show, it is fiction, it is a story being told. (2) any artist would tell you that repeating yourself and becoming formulaic is boring. So the fact this is a departure, even though it still carries the Cohen Brothers dark humour and nuances, is not an issue. The pusillanimous, backhanded references to "woke" appear to cover a more pernicious undercurrent for the dislike of the show, I understand anyone not liking this show aesthetically because it strays from the, for want of a better word, formula, but some of the reasoning behind the cavalcade of hate is plainly worrying.

Chris Rock does very well considering his bombastic standup persona is wiped from existence in his characters portrayal. Timothy Olyphant is majestic as the religious hypocrite Marshall, Jessie Buckley's Nurse is brilliant, but the stand out performance is Ben Whishaw as the true spirit of Fargo, the good heart in a world of darkness, he is exceptional and gives a tour-de-force performance.

Season Four is a great story, well acted, with great twists and turns, I admit that it is a stretch to call it Fargo, and it has upset a lot of people, if their upset was purely that they felt it a let down artistically, I'd not bother to write this review, it's the sinister language of the Trumpers that really make it hard to stomach the ill-informed critical mauling.

The Third Day (2020)

An eerie artistic vision

[9/10 · 2 November 2020]

Dennis Kelly wrote one of the best TV shows ever when he wrote Utopia, so I was very interested to see this, now I'll be honest I've only watched episodes one and two but, after seeing all the negative reviews I had to jump in. The atmosphere is a like a dark lysergic trip, Jude Law is excellent, as are all the cast, it reminds me a little of Midsommar, but only in the context of the traditional rituals. I remember summer fetes in English villages, some had ancient traditions they would celebrate, this is like that but with a dark twist. I don't understand the naysayers who think it's slow, everything works beautifully in conjunction with everything else, cinematography, the colours and hues are amazing, the script is great, but the real star is the sense of being unsettled, the fear, the unknown, it all makes for incredible TV. Dennis Kelly is a rare talent.

On the Rocks (2020)

Awful

[4/10 · 24 October 2020]

A pointless bore fest, Bill Murray adds some sparkle and humour, Jones gives a solid performance but, it's dull dull dull, and utterly pointless. What a waste of 96 minutes.

The Boys in the Band (2020)

A masterpiece

[10/10 · 4 October 2020]

An amazing film that captures the aesthetic of the stage play. A dialogue driven masterpiece that keeps one riveted from the first Scene. Beautifully acted, beautifully shot and a joy to watch.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

An Incredible piece of art

[10/10 · 20 September 2020]

Multi layered, amazing acting, a dialogue driven artistic vision. Not for the easily bored, this is a film maker at the height of his powers. Ignore the negative reviews, if you love genius movie making, enjoy this Spike Lee masterpiece

Suzi Q (2019)

Awful, awful music, a few interesting moments

[4/10 · 5 July 2020]

Any woman who got success as a musician in the early 70s, when misogyny was even more egregiously vile than it is today, must be admired, that is very important to state. The music however, was/is vapid and utterly devoid of any artistry. For someone who claims they were not manufactured, the producer/song writers make her seem awfully manufactured, don't get me wrong, she is an amazing bass player and she can sing, and there is no doubt she had star quality in a mans world. Sadly this documentary tries to add gravitas to something that does not deserve it, this is especially true when Suzi reads her appalling vacuous lyrics, you can try and depict these drivel as "art", but it just is not. It just gets sadder and with 20 minutes to go, I couldn't take it anymore and switched off.

I think she was an influence and icon for women, that's really all that matters. The Runaways were pioneers, Debbie Harry was influenced, and that's good, but there was also utter bilge like Lita Ford, she like ALL the American rock of that period were the vacuous, artless, nadir of modern music, capitalism at its very worst, music with absolutely nothing to offer, nothing to inspire, just brain dead vapidity.

If you're a big fan, give it a go, if not, don't bother.

Normal People (2020)

Amazing acting, pure fantasy

[6/10 · 9 May 2020]

Normal People? Not really, the boy, a cliched working class genius, (they definitely exist, but go painfully ignored) with a gym/Hollywood body (He never seems to have time for a gym) and a highly privileged girl, wealth, oh boo hoo, what a hard life. She's an "outsider" yet she is stunningly beautiful. This is a Mills & Boon for hipsters, a middle class fantasy, as unrealistic as they come. The sound track is insipid and the cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart may as well have just been an image of someone taking a s@#t on Ian Curtis' memorial. It's painfully unbelievable and just pure fantasy. In its credit, the acting is very good, the leads are phenomenal, the awful characters are decidedly awful, and it's paced beautifully. If you're a fantasist that believes this manipulative story line could happen, you'll love this show, if you've spent a minute in reality, this is as absurd as the Fast & the Furious. A middle class w#t dream of an utter fantasy.

Knives Out (2019)

Ignore the naysayers!

[9/10 · 1 March 2020]

Was looking forward to this for a while and it did not disappoint. I cannot understand the negative reviews, or those that found it boring, yes there are no shoot-outs or explosions, but there is some fine acting (the always brilliant Michael Shannon), a well put together story, a few good laughs, all held together by a fantastic director. This might not be for Fast & the Furious fans, and that's why it's a great film.